Tiara Yachts, a division of S2 Yachts, announced this week that it will lay off 110 employees from its Holland, Mich. plant, the Grand Rapids (Mich.) Press reports.
Company officials say a declining boat market is to blame.
The company employs about 780 workers at the Holland facility.
“Because of the quality of our product, we were able to stave off” some of the losses other boat manufacturers had experienced as a result of the downturn in the economy, Tiara marketing director David Walsh told the newspaper.
Until the past year, Tiara had been expanding its operations, highlighted by a project launched in the fall of 2005 in which the company invested $14 million in a 300,000-square-foot expansion, with the promise of adding nearly 600 new jobs.
S2 Yachts, Tiara’s parent firm, has been in business in Holland since 1974. In addition to its Holland location, it also operates plants in Fort Pierce, Fla., and Swansboro, N.C.
Tiara Yachts’ products include open, sovran, coronet and convertible models with inboard power from 29 to 58 feet. S2 Yachts also produces Pursuit Boats from 22 to 38 feet in inboard, outboard and stern drive configurations.
The company could not be reached for comment.
